Why would Goffman argue that presentation of the self is a social accomplishment PDF

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Why would Goffman argue that presentation of the self is a social accomplishment?

How people interact with and perceive one another is the substratum of human socialisation. Erving Goffman’s ‘Presentation of the Self’ offers a continually relevant analysis as to how one presents oneself. Goffman contends that socialisation centres around the need to develop and maintain social ‘characters’ and identities, through a dramaturgical formulation of common interactions in life. Goffman conveys a stage show through his writings, depicting the everyday; starring idealised portrayals of human identities observed by a demanding audience. The ‘self’ is integral in understanding social organisation and conduct. The presentation of self allows a person to tailor how they are perceived, with potential to enhance one’s social capital. Goffman shows how it allows a person to navigate and participate fully in society. Erving Goffman subsequently regards the presentation of self as a social accomplishment. The ‘self’, as portrayed by Goffman, implies an underlying order of socialisation which can be found everywhere in everyday life; “When an individual plays a part he implicitly requests his observers to take seriously the impression that is fostered before them.” – Erving Goffman 1 The first commandment of Goffman’s dramaturgy, as noted above, could be used to describe a number of examples found in social life. Goffman promotes this idea of performance within our social environment, with people playing certain parts in the presence of an audience. The success of how one presents themselves can hinge on one’s belief in their own performance. In practice a performance requires an audience to believe that the performer has a certain array of attributes, more so, the performer wants the audience to believe these attributes. An example of this can be found in politics of the present day and of the past. During election campaigns politicians can be seen to change how they present themselves depending on the audience which they are addressing. Through various rhetoric devices, politicians can ensure their performance is believed by different social groups which have perhaps evaded their persuasion before, or perhaps would not typically vote in their favour. Pathos is a device that is employed to engage the imagination of the audience and to play to their thoughts and feelings; “When a writer or speaker uses pathos to persuade the audience, he or she attempts to move them by putting them in the right frame of minds, or put differently, to create the right disposition”2. For instance, Conservative party leaders David Cameron and Margaret Thatcher emphasised themselves to be logical and frugal spenders, who have family values, in their respective campaigns, 1 Goffman, E., 1990. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Penguin Books. 2 Greiner, N. 2005. “An Introduction to Pathos.” Writing Across the Curriculum, July 3.

performing as the supposed opposite of their “free-spending”, incumbent Labour counterparts. These changes to their own performance – in the form of rhetoric - helped to convince their audience, in this case, the electorate which won them their respective elections 3. This is an example which aids Goffman in arguing self-presentation as a social accomplishment, as it is an illustration of a convincing performance being used to achieve social gain for the performer. This example also ties into Goffman’s notion of ‘Impression Management’, as two politicians who are continually before an audience have been able to adjust their behaviour. Their behaviour is dependent on one of two forms of performance; “front stage” or “backstage”.

Impression Management is a concept devised by Goffman in his dramaturgical approach to help convey the way in which a person may change their behaviour to portray themselves how they wish to be perceived. Goffman describes “social actors” who, in this process, change their performances for “front stage” situations, which would typically involve an audience and antithetically, tailor their performance in examples of “backstage” situations where more relaxed behaviour would be found in the absence of an audience4. The front-stage self is intended for public consumption, whereas the vulnerable backstage self is a self that is typically exempt from expectation and out of the public eye. In modern society, social networking platforms are an invaluable resource when examining the way in which people participate in impression management. As of 2017, Facebook boasts 2 billion monthly users, which has risen from 1 billion since 20125. Thus, Facebook provides the largest – most widely accessible – audience from whom people put on a ‘front’ for. However, in order to effectively quantify what is achieved by self-presentation online, it is useful to analyse the online dating community. A study conducted by Nicole Ellison, Rebecca Heino and Jennifer Gibbs observed the tactics used by participants in online dating, more over to examine how they accomplish finding a romantic partner. In the study users were found to display idealised, or “future” versions of themselves. “Many people describe themselves the way they want [to be] ... their ideal themselves” 6. “I’ve never know so many incredibly athletic women in my life” 7; states a bewildered participant, an example of a ‘victim’ of the ‘front’ of other users. Throughout the study individuals admit to promoting themselves to carry positive traits which they may not otherwise possess. These examples show how Goffman’s Impression Management theory is still relevant today, 3 Andrew Scott Crines (2015) The rhetoric of neoliberalism in the politics of crisis, Global Discourse, 5:1, 116-129 4 Goffman, E., 1990. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Penguin Books. 5 https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/ 6 Ellison, N., Heino, R. and Gibbs, J. (2006), Managing Impressions Online: Self-Presentation Processes in the Online Dating Environment. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11: 415–441. 7 Ellison, N., Heino, R. and Gibbs, J. (2006), Managing Impressions Online: Self-Presentation Processes in the Online Dating Environment. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11: 415–441.

and aid in his argument that this presentation of self is a social accomplishment, as people are actively changing their “self” to gain a potential partner. Goffman’s ‘Presentation of the Self’ depicts a world in which all social interaction is centred around the personal gain of the performer. This is found to be applicable when a performer holds the opinion of others well above their own opinion of themselves; one who merits their ‘self’ on how others may perceive it. Overall, it is found that how one is perceived can determine one’s ability to navigate through life in today’s social environment. While some may consider themselves exempt from this rule – “I don’t care what people think” mentality – it seems very much impossible to participate in society without somebody having an opinion of you. Thus, whether or not the ‘performer’ cares for the opinions of his or her audience bares little merit, when said opinions can determine how said performer can navigate through their lives. One’s self is how one is defined by the society around them and subsequently becomes how they define themselves. To conclude, Goffman considers presentation of self as social accomplishment as it is something one must perfect to participate in society. Using a political example, it is easy to see how presentation of the self can be so important; in winning elections and swaying voters. With the birth of the ‘online society’, the ‘self’ has become exponentially easier appear in its performer’s most idealised form; the example of online dating sites shows the accomplishment gained from courting with idealised ‘magna opera’ of ourselves. Society has Goffman’s ‘actors’ ceaselessly engaging with an unyielding audience, tentatively responding to judgement and performing in their own unique ways, in the hope that they can circumvent the restraints they are deemed to have.

“If we never tried to seem a little better than we are, how could we improve or train ourselves from the outside inwards?” - Charles Horton Cooley8

Word count: 1282 8 Cooley, Charles H. On Self and Social Organization. Ed. Schubert Hans-Joachim. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Bibliography: Goffman, E., 1990. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Penguin Books. Greiner, N. 2005. “An Introduction to Pathos.” Writing Across the Curriculum, July 3. Andrew Scott Crines (2015) The rhetoric of neoliberalism in the politics of crisis, Global Discourse, 5:1, 116-129 https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/ Ellison, N., Heino, R. and Gibbs, J. (2006), Managing Impressions Online: Self-Presentation Processes in the Online Dating Environment. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11: 415–441. Cooley, Charles H. On Self and Social Organization. Ed. Schubert Hans-Joachim. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998....